Car-coupling



UNITED STATES PATENT i OFFICE.

THEOPHILUS P. WEIDLER, OF GLENOLA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 570,652, dated November s, 1896.

Application filed August 19, 1896- Serial No. 603,184. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEOPHILUS P. WEID- LER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glenola, in the county of Lancaster, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain In1- provements in Oar-Couplings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in automatic car-couplers; and the objects of the invention are, first, to protect the coupling mechanism against undue strain in coupling the cars; second, to maintain the coupling-pin in a vertical position in insert-- ing it in or raising it from the draw-head, and, third, to lock the device for operating the coupling-pin.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of the various parts, as hereinafter fully described, and then pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a draw-head embodying my improvements; Fig. 2, a top plan View of the same, the top of the weightchamber being cutaway; Fig. 3, a front elevation of the draw-head; Fig. 4, a perspective view of the device for locking the shaft through which the coupling-pin is raised; and Fig. 5, a perspective view of aportion of the lever-weight, showing the handhold for raising the same.

Similar letters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the details of the drawings, A indicates the front of a car; A, the drawhead; A, the draw-bar; A the couplingpin, and A the coupling-link.

On the draw-head adjacent to the front of the car-body is a weight-chamber B, formed by vertical walls B, and havinga lid B closing the top, through which a weighted lever, to be described, is inserted. In the forward portion of the bottom of chamber B is a centrally-located slot 1) longitudinal of the draw head and extending beyond the front wall of said chamber to form the usual opening I) for the coupling-pin A 0n the bottom of the draw-head are two parallel vertical ribs or walls D longitudinal of the draw-head and forming between them a groove 01, that lies beneath and ranges with slot b. Ribs or walls D extend from beneath the couplingpin opening, I), back toward the rear of the draw-head, and, if preferable, they may extend in height from the bottom plate to the top plate of the draw-head, as shown by broken lines d, Figs. 1 and 3. The front ends or shoulders of these ribs or walls are rounded or beveled, as shown at (1 to receive the end of link A when the same is to be engaged by the coupling-pin.

E indicates a weight or block situated in chamber 13 and oblong in outline longitudinally of the draw-head. This weight or block is pivoted on a rod E, passing through the lower front part thereof and through the sidewalls of said chamber. On the center of the bottom of said front part is a tongue F, passing down through slotb and having a heel F on the lower end thereof engaging groove d, the front edge of which is beveled, as shown at f, and on the front of tongue F is a for- Wardly-projecting lip f, located about on a line with or a little below the top plate a of the draw-head. In the normal position of the lever formed by weight E and-tongue F lip f extend s beneath the coupling-pin opening and supports said pin in an elevated position, as shown in Fig. 1, the rear end 6 of weight E resting upon the portion (2 of the bottom of chamber B, closing that end of slot 1), thus limiting the forward movement of tongue F. The weight and its attachments are, raised from chamber B by a handhold 6 located in a recess 6 in the top thereof.

In operating, the coupling-pin being elevated and supported by lip f, the couplinglink entering the draw-head engages the front and beveled edge f of tongue F and pushes the same back, so as to remove lipf from beneath the coupling-pin and permit it to engage the link. In thus inserting the coupling-link in the draw-head its inner movement is limited by shoulders d of ribs or walls D, so that weight E is not raised more than is necessary to clear lip f from beneath the con pling-pin. Whenfiaid pin is again raised, the weight E, by reason of its size, acting through tongue F, ejects the coupling-link from the draw-head.

Locating the weight of the lever E F in a separate chamber above the draw-head per-- Inits the use of a larger and heavier weight having greater leverage than those heretofore employed, thus insuring a positive ejectment' of thecoupling-link'and at the sametgtimeiprotecting the mechanism from the'nwe'atherr:

G indicates a post set in the front wall of chamber B in rear of the coupling-pin opening and extending above said chamber. In this post is a vertical beveled groove g, that is engaged by a rounded lip ct on the elongated head a of coupling-pin A In front of the coupling-pin opening is another post, G, the inner edges of which are beveled; and this post G engages a groove in the front of the head a of the coupling-pin. The head of the coupling-pin extends beyond the periphery thereof on all sides, so that when it is closed the pin-opening in the draw-head is closed, and vertical movement of said pin is insured by the engagement of the head thereof with the posts G and G, as has been described.

H indicates a rock-shaft extending inward from the side of the car to the center of the end thereof, said shaft having its hearings in staples h, secured in said front of the car. On the inner end of the rock-shaft there is a stud h, and from the stud there branch forward two curved arms H, the outer ends, 7L whereof extend forward in parallel lines. To these ends are attached the ends of a slack chain 1, that passes through a ring I on the upper end of the coupling-pin.

On the outer end of rock-shaft H is a locking-head, L, rectangular in outline and of greater depth than width, and beneath head L is a projection M on the end of the car,

having therein a socket m, adapted to receive head L when in an upright position. When arms H 72.2 are extended in a horizontal position, as shown in full lines in Figs. 1, 2,'and 3, head L is engaged with socket m and rockshaft H is prevented from revolving; but when it is desired to disengage the couplingpin from the interior of the draw-head, head L is raised from socket m by handle M, as shown by broken lines 017., Fig. 4., and the rock-shaft is then turned in its bearings so as to throw arms H 77,2 upward into the position illustrated by broken lines m Fig. 3.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, in a draw-head, of a chamber on the draw-head, having a slot in the bottom thereof, a weighted lever-arm having its front end fulcrumed in said chamber, a bearing back of said slot, adapted to limit the downward movement of said lever-arm, and a tongue on the front of said lever-arm and projecting down into the draw-head and constructed to support the coupling-pin in an elevated position, the tongue projecting across the line of travel of the coupling-link, for the purpose specified.

2. The combination, in a draw-head, of a chamber on the draw-head, having a slot in the bottom thereof, a weighted lever-arm having its front end fulcrumed in said chamber, a bearing back of said slot,adapted to limit the downward movement of said lever-arm, a tongue on the front of said lever-arm and projecting down into the draw-head, a lip on the tongue, adapted to project beneath the coupling pin opening, the portion of the tongue below said lip projecting across the line of travel of the coupling-link, for the purpose specified.

3. The combination, in a draw-head, of a chamber on the draw-head, having a slot in the bottom thereof, a weighted lever-arm pivoted in said chamber, ribs on the bottom of the draw-head and forming a groove ranging with the slot in the bottom of the chamber, said ribs lying in the path of travel of the coupling-pin, and a tongue on the lever-arm, extending down through said slot into said groove, said tongue being constructed to support the coupling-pin in an elevated position,

for the purpose specified.

4:. The combination, in adraw-head, of a chamber on the draw-head, having a slot in the bottom thereof, a weighted lever-arm having its front end fulcrumed in said chamber, a bearing back of said slot, adapted to limit the downward movement of said lever-arm, ribs on the bottom of the draw-head and forming a groove ranging with the slot in the bottom of the chamber, said ribs lying in the path of travel of the coupling-link, and a tongue on the front of the lever-arm and extending down through said slot into said groove, said tongue being constructed to support the coupling-pin in an elevated position, for the purpose specified.

5. The combination, in a draw-head, of a chamber on the draw-head, having a slot in the bottom thereof, a weighted lever-arm having its front end fulcrumed in said chamber, a bearing back of said slot, adapted to limit the downward movement of said lever-arm, ribs on the bottom of the draw-head and forming a groove ranging with the slot in the bottom of the chamber, said ribs lying in the path of travel of the coupling-link and having their front ends beveled, a tongue on the front of the lever-arm and extending down through said slot into said groove, a lip on the tongue, adapted to project beneath the coupling-pin opening, the front edge of the portion ofthe tongue below the lip being inclined backward from said lip to the lower end thereof, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. The combination, in a draw-head, of a post on one side of the coupling-pin opening and having a vertical groove therein, a post on the opposite side of said opening, a coupling-pin head having a lip constructed to engage the groove in the first post and a groove adapted to embrace the second post, a rockshaft, outwardly-projectin g arms on the rockshaft, and a slack chain attached to said arms and passing through a ring on the couplingpin, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

TI-IEQPHILUS P. WEIDLER. 

